The Constant of 3,5, and 6

Now that is some hard work

I've gotten to know a lot of different people through my journey of losing weight and getting fitter. People who follow a lot of different programs, diets, routines, etc. Some with valid points, many with points that, well... points that provoke a monologue full of profanity in my mind. Though, this is a little bit off the track I want to be on, so let's get rolling.

Everyone has a set number of training days throughout the week. It looks different for us all. Some train six days a week and a different muscle group. This is typical of body building traditions (maybe not so much the 6 days, but you understand). Back and biceps one day, chest and triceps the next. Definitely something I do not prefer. Others, especially those who follow main site programming, do three on, one off, working up to six days in their week. Some, like myself, drop five straight and rest on the weekend (speaking of which, back to it tonight). Whatever it may be, there must always be a constant. Not just that you're doing work. If you workout, you are of course doing work. There must be a constant that runs through the full seven days of your week, without fail.

The aftermath; soreness. That feeling that slows you down at work, the one you forget about after a day of squats until you finally have to stand up from that desk chair to take a leak and a loud groan resonates from within you, the reminding ache that tells you, "You are becoming better."  It is a feeling that sometimes seems debilitating (or after you hit Angie for the first time ever after a WODless month, IS debilitating), that sometimes makes you wonder why you keep coming back for more.

Soreness is a must, no matter how many days you workout (unless it's one... in that case, man up). If ever you wake up the day after a WOD and there is little to no pain, you didn't work hard enough. In that case, hit it twice as hard the next day. Never lose the intensity, never lose the drive. Had a bad day? All the more reason to hammer it through even harder than usual. Make sure you have no more energy to be angry after it is all said and done. Let it cause you to lay prostrate on the floor (unless you're Mikko, of course).

Prostrate... or something like it.

Of course, it's difficult. As it should be. It always gets worse before it gets better. To build muscle you must break it down first. To build endurance, you have to push until you can no longer endure. Find your limits, destroy them, and they will return anew. The best athletes in the world don't have it easy in training. They work hard, they break themselves down, over and over and over again. They have become the best because they beat themselves down.

The constant is pain. Even on your rest days it must be present. Even now, my quads still feel some of the effects of the over 300 total squats I did combined last week, and I'm going back to it after two rest days. It sounds sadistic, sadomasochistic, and twisted. You must conquer the feelings, control your mind, and make strong your heart. The rest of your body will follow.

WODea 1/31/2011

For time:

Burpee broad jump 200m

30 Dead Lifts 225#/185#

20 Hang Power Cleans 135#/95#

15 Push Jerks 135#/95#

Row 500m

"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey."

Post times, videos, and thoughts to comments.